Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Graphic Design and Advertising

Graphic Design: Bits and Details

How are photographs reproduced in my printed materials?

       Photographs have to be broken down into a format that can be printed which requires a
       series of tiny dots in each picture which are measured in Dots Per Inch or DPI.
       Black and white halftones produce greyscale graphic dot tones based on the output
       of film negatives measured in the number of lines per inch (LPI) and full color photos
       are divided into dots containing CMYK tones (the four colors printing presses use to  
       produce full color C: Cyan; M: Magenta; Y: Yellow; K: Black)
       Get a briefing on the details here...coming soon.

What are color separations?

       Before a printing press can print layers of color on paper stock, they first have to be
       divided into separate sheets of color by a computer that later outputs them on paper or
       stores them electronically for output to film negatives. The full color process breaks
       color information of a photo or graphic into the 4 process colors called CMYK: 
       C: Cyan; M: Magenta; Y: Yellow; K: Black.
       Learn more about this process...coming soon.

What does the weight of a paper mean?

       20 lb. paper is like copy paper, 24 lb. or 70 lb. paper is a little heavier and 65 lb.
       is like an index card stock weight often used for cover projects.
       Read more about paper weights and textures and how they differ...coming soon.

Why does the first few hundred pieces of a printed piece cost so much more than
running several hundred copies?

       Certain aspects of the printing process are built into each print estimate.
       Getting the job set up on the press, getting ink in the color wells and starting the
       run is the base price of the print job. Running the job after the set up is established
       makes printing additional pieces more affordable. Smaller runs usually cost more
       per copy than longer runs.
       Read more about how to save money on print costs...coming soon.

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